I wanted to start a thread just on the topic of free parking for EVs in Hawaii. If you don't know Act 290 of the 1997 legislative session states:

An electric vehicle on which a license plate described in section 3 is affixed shall be exempt from:(1) The payment of parking fees, including those collected through parking meters, charged by any governmental authority, other than a branch of the federal government, when being operated in this State; and(2) High occupancy vehicle restrictions or other traffic control measures.

So once you have your EV plates you can park for free in any County or State lot (and drive in the HOV lane with only one person ion the car). That is the law but that doesn't mean they will let you park for free. I started this thread so we can keep track of who is and is not complying with the law so you will know what to expect if you try parking at one of the places that is supposed to be free for EVs. I also want to get information on the ones that don't so that we can persuade them to follow the law. If you are refused free parking please save the receipt and record all the information about the time and place etc. and post to this thread about it. As the thread expands I will edit this post and update the lists.

Here is a list of places known to give free parking for cars with EV plates:

I've been having an interesting time with UH Manoa and the free parking issue. On the positive side they are allowing EVs to park for free in Zone 20 and I've been informed by the Vice Chancellor that there will soon be dedicated electric vehicle parking spots there as well, which should make things easier when Zone 20 is full. I am hoping those spots will have level 2 chargers but I don't know. On the minus side, UH is stubbornly clinging to the idea that Act 290 doesn't in fact apply to them so they don't have to provide free parking for electric vehicles on upper campus. I won't go into all the details but their legal arguments other than to say they are really lame. So I told them I was going to park in upper campus in the pay for park spots, then take them to small claims court when they refused to reimburse me. Seems I scared them with this because they actually reimbursed me my $2.00 fee:

We will reimburse you the $2.00 parking fee as a courtesy gesture. In future, please park in zone 20 if you would like to park at no charge.

Ha, ha ... now I can't take them to small claims court because I have no claim, but I'm sure they wouldn't have reimbursed me if they thought they would win. Even though I got reimbursed I still list upper campus in the refuse to give free parking list since there is no guarantee they will do so next time.

...UH is stubbornly clinging to the idea that Act 290 doesn't in fact apply to them so they don't have to provide free parking for electric vehicles on upper campus. I won't go into all the details but their legal arguments other than to say they are really lame....

I'd actually be interested in hearing the details. Have they put their justification in writing/email? I'm not an attorney, but on the face it seems like it could be worth forcing a legal test -- especially since they apparently do allow free parking on SOME parts of campus.

...UH is stubbornly clinging to the idea that Act 290 doesn't in fact apply to them so they don't have to provide free parking for electric vehicles on upper campus. I won't go into all the details but their legal arguments other than to say they are really lame....

I'd actually be interested in hearing the details. Have they put their justification in writing/email? I'm not an attorney, but on the face it seems like it could be worth forcing a legal test -- especially since they apparently do allow free parking on SOME parts of campus.

They are on really shaky ground. What they claim is that the current authority for the University to charge its own parking fees comes from HRS § 304A-2601 which was created by Act 75 of the 2006 legislature and since that was passed in 2006 and Act 290 is from 1997, Act 75 superseded Act 290. The problem is that Act 75 did nothing but re-codify the higher education statutes. Act 75 took the parking provisions that were in HRS § 301-1 in 1997 and moved them to HRS § 304A-2601 leaving the language virtually unchanged. Further, the Senate WAM committee, which was the last committee to amend HB1 before it became Act 75 specifically stated in their committee report that:

Your Committee further finds that this measure does not produce any substantive changes in the law but does update and clarify the relevant statutes through reorganization, consolidation, amendment, and repeal.

In addition, Act 75 never mentions electric vehicles or Act 290. So it is pretty much impossible for the University to claim Act 75 was intended to overrule Act 290. I think this is why they refunded my $2.00, they are really afraid that if I take them to small claims court I will win and they will be forced to provide free parking on upper campus. As far as the free parking on lower campus goes they claim they are doing that not because of Act 290 but because they are doing it voluntarily to support sustainability on campus.

Added the C&C lot on Beretania in China Town. Initially the attendant said no but after I showed her the law she called her boss and then asked my to back up so she could read the plate number. She said they had never been notified to allow EVs to park free but she would tell the other attendants.

jysue wrote:Akohekohe,Do any of the lots give you a ticket on entrance? Do you get the ticket, then talk to the attendant on exiting?

With the convention center and the municipal lot I got the ticket and then just paid nothing on the way out. I still had to give them the ticket. When you turn the ticket in they write down you plate number on the ticket to verify it was an electric vehicle. This way they can control for the tickets. At UH Zone 20 they don't give you a ticket but just let you in for free. This is because they collect the fee upon entering.

On Friday 6/10/11 at about 7:15 pm, I was refused free parking at the Chinatown lot and at about 10 pm the same occurred at the Harbour Court lot. Both attendants said "no free parking." However, that same morning, the Honolulu airport parking lot allowed free parking. Otherwise, it would have cost $45.

lkm808 wrote:On Friday 6/10/11 at about 7:15 pm, I was refused free parking at the Chinatown lot and at about 10 pm the same occurred at the Harbour Court lot. Both attendants said "no free parking." However, that same morning, the Honolulu airport parking lot allowed free parking. Otherwise, it would have cost $45.

With the China town lot you have to insist that they call their supervisor. Both times with me the attendants said no but after they called their supervisor they said yes. I haven't tried the Harbour Court lot. Is that a C&C lot? I've been trying to find a list of all the C&C lots but haven't found one yet. Great news on the airport! You're the first I've heard that actually got it.

The University refused to reimburse a $2.00 parking fee that I paid in zone 2 on upper campus. Today I filed a claim in small claims court to recover the $2.00. It is a $35.00 filing fee but I will recover that if I win. My court date is July 6 at 1:30. I'll keep you posted. I know it seems silly to go to court over $2.00 but once I win the $2.00 claim they will have to waive the fee in the future. I think this may be the strategy we have to use if we are refused free parking. Keep you receipts. If the attendant refuses to reimburse you should ask them to call their supervisor. If that doesn't work pay and keep the receipt. Then asked write and asked to be reimbursed. If you are refused take them to small claims court. Anyway, if I win against UH we will have established a precedent.